A Pilot's Sorrow
by Vader23A
Summary: Following Katrina's death, Keith struggles to cope with it. Takes place between the canon ending of Armored Core: Demons of Hell and Vandread Raven


A Pilot's Sorrow

Disclaimer: I don't own the Armored Core series, Software does. My OC and his NEXT belong to me though.

Keith Oswell walks through the crowded streets of his hometown of Salt Lake City, Utah ignoring everything around him. His deep blue eyes that once shined with happiness and life are now filled with sadness and heartache because 2 weeks ago the love of his life, Katrina, sacrificed herself to protect Keith from Reiterpallasch's HLC09-ACRUX high laser cannon while the Demons of Hell were sent to capture Arteria Cranium on the behest of ORCA leader Maximilian Thermidor. The Closed Plan was underway at the time where the Brigade set out to clear the web of Assault Cells in Earth's orbit using the Ehrenberg anti-satellite batteries so that mankind could colonize outer space.

The tan Armored Core NEXT and its partner, My Bliss, suffered the wrath of the 16-year old American for killing Katrina.

Ever since the blue-haired girl's death, Keith found himself consumed with grief and even tried to commit suicide a few times but he somehow couldn't do it. Perhaps it was Katrina's presence he felt occasionally?

Keith sits on a bench at an empty park, he can see storm clouds gathering in the distance. The urge to cry makes its way to the surface and he does his best to hold them back.

He said to himself, "Why was I cursed with this loneliness? My parents died young in that power plant fire and now Katrina. Why am I always the survivor? Why?" He reflects on everything that has happened up to now from the moment he and Katrina first met back in 2004, his very first mission as a NEXT pilot, becoming the youngest rank 1 Lynx at the age of 8 and he and Katrina becoming lovers.

Keith hears footsteps coming at his direction and the teen looks up to see his and Katrina's operator Serene Haze standing there with a sympathetic look on her face, she was at Katrina's funeral the day after Arteria Cranium was captured. She had been their operator for more than 10 years and developed a bond with the young pilots.

Serene said, "What's the matter, Keith? Don't tell me you are still blaming yourself for what happened to Katrina? Come on, Keith it's not your fault."

Keith replied, "But it is, Serene! If I wasn't so exhausted from all that dodging, then Katrina would still be alive! This pain I'm feeling in my heart won't go away, nothing that I do will take it away. I have tried everything I can think up: Working out, therapy, counseling, writing, all of that but nothing helps!"

Serene contemplated her next choice of words, "Keith, everybody loses loved ones whether by disease or something else, it's part of life. You need to overcome this or you won't be happy." Keith lowers his head so that his face is covered by his hair.

He mumbled, "You haven't experienced what I had to endure."

The blonde-haired woman whispered, "You're wrong."

Keith said, "What was that?"

Serene shook his head, "Nothing. Anyway, go to Katrina's grave and make peace with her it's the first step in moving on."

The 16-year old American balled his fists, "It's not as easy as you think, Serene. Losing someone you love at my age is more painful than it is for an adult. While I was walking away from the cemetery, I heard Canis say that whether I die tomorrow or live to old age is up to me. What's the point of enjoying life if you don't have someone to share it with?" He leaves the park.

'Oh, Keith. Having to lose your parents at 6 years old, live as a street urchin, fighting in nearly 2 wars, finding love in Katrina only to have her be taken away from you. You do have a chance to love again if you simply have the strength to do so.' Serene thought as she watched Keith leave.

The grief-stricken teen wanders aimlessly through the streets, he crosses a TV store and sees the news about the Cradles continuing to fall from the sky. Rain begins to pour down as Keith walks he lowers his head as the poor kid cries, the rain mixes in with his tears.

Keith said quietly, "Katrina, come back. It should've been me not her! It's not fair!" Bringing his head slightly up, he sees an image of Katrina running to him and hugging his arm with a loving smile on the projected Keith's face. The sadness the rank 1 Lynx feels only grows the more he craved of wanting Katrina back. Her warm and gentle smile she gave him always cheered Keith up when he felt down. He wonders how her parents are coping with the loss of their daughter.

Inside their house, Selene watches the rain pour through the window as Scott joins her.

Selene asked her husband, "You think Keith is okay out there?"

Scott replied, "I am sure he is, honey. At least, that's what I want to believe. Keith loved our daughter very much, she was the best thing to ever happen to him but I dread to think what kind of mental state he's in now that she is gone."

Selene stated, "Keith's parents died when he was 6 years old and had to grow up knowing they weren't there to comfort him when he felt sad or lonely. I firmly believe Katrina filled that void over time and through her love and support, Keith's heart mended bit by bit. Our daughter was his reason to keep going, his pillar of strength. Unfortunately that void re-opened when Katrina was killed." Keith continues walking in the rain until he hears a girl scream coming from an alley to his right. Keith heads there and spots a bunch of assassins interrogating a blonde-haired girl around his age. Her attire resembled that of a school girl outfit one would see in an anime. The black-haired teen wonders if she was into cosplay.

One of the assassins demanded, "I'm not going to ask you again, girl. Where is the other half of the Demons of Hell?"

The girl said, "I have no idea what you're talking about! I have never heard about them, honest!" The second assassin spots Keith and taps his partner on the shoulder to grabs his attention then points where the American was. Keith glares at them with contempt.

He grinned, "Ah, Keith Oswell. You saved us the effort of finding you."

Keith seethed, "I don't care if the League sent you assholes but I am warning you, I'm emotionally unstable right now. If you come at me I will kill you!" Ignoring his threat, the duo charge at Keith who readies himself for battle.

They bring their wrist blades to bear and swing at the teenager Keith avoids the blades with no difficulty then retaliates with punches and kicks to his attackers. The second assassin tries to attack Keith from behind, only to have the 16-year old whip around and deliver a roundhouse kick to the jaw that sends the fool spiraling through the air before colliding with a green dumpster. The assassin groans in pain. Returning to the first assassin in front of him Keith's eyes gain a demonic glint. Unfazed by it, the League assassin runs at him intending to stab Keith but the black-haired teen grabs one of the wrist blades and proceeds to rip the weapon off. The sharp metal cuts through the skin on Keith's hand causing blood to drip out of the wound, ignoring the burning sensation of his flesh being cut open Keith succeeds in ripping the wrist blade off and jams it into the attacker's left arm, earning Keith a scream of agony. At the same time, he's able to inhales the enemy's scent and quickly realized that this person was clearly a female assassin. The second assassin gets to his feet and joins his partner.

He glared at the teenager, "This isn't over, Demon of Hell. You will pay dearly for this!" The duo retreat and Keith turns around to make eye contact with the girl, who is staring at him with wide eyes.

She gasped, "I don't believe it! Standing before me is the famous Keith Oswell, one half of the Demons of Hell!" She noticed the blood still falling from his hand, "Oh no, your hand!"

Keith covered it, "It's not deep if that is what you are concerned about. It will heal on its own."

The girl persisted, "No, please. Let me treat that wound, it's the least I can do to repay you for saving me from those jerks." She opens her bag and pulls out a first-aid kit. She begins with applying some disinfectant on the cut producing a stinging sensation but Keith doesn't flinch, once the wound was cleaned of any bacteria the girl wipes some anti-septic on the cut before bandaging it up, cutting the roll when she determined the wound was properly covered.

Keith asked, "What's your name?"

The girl smiled, "Alex Swift. I am training to become paramedic."

Keith commented, "You do have potential to be one of the best." He stares at the bandaged up cut with a small smile.

Alex asked him, "What's the matter, Keith?" The smile instantly fades when she called his name.

The American looked back at her, "Sorry, it's just that you kind of remind me of Katrina." He sees Alex gain a thoughtful look.

She said, "Katrina. If I remember correctly, she was the other half of the Demons of Hell. She must have been really special to you."

Keith lowered his head, "She was the first love of my life. We met back in 2004 when we were still kids, I found out that my parents died in a power plant fire and I didn't know any other family members except my parents. Mom and dad were famous in the medical field. Katrina was truly one of a kind. Her smile alone would make anyone melt. She sacrificed her life to save mine during the mission to capture Arteria Cranium." Tears run down his face again when he mentioned Arteria Cranium, the feeling of loneliness gripping him. Alex can't help but feel sympathetic toward the American.

Keith's battle instincts tell him that something's happened at the cemetery where Katrina lied buried. He presses a button on his watch to call his NEXT, in no time Black Dragon descends through the storm clouds and the black-haired teen rides the lifting wire up to his Armored Core's chest, the back of the core opens up allowing Keith to enter the cockpit. Strapping himself in, Keith closes the cockpit door and places his hands on the control sticks. The black NEXT turns around to gaze at a wide-eyed Alex.

'My god, that's an Armored Core NEXT! It really is enormous!' She thought, gaping at the machine's height.

Black Dragon's main boosters generate strong gusts of wind as they power up then Black Dragon takes off.

Keith follows that sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach and the closer he approaches the origin, the more that feeling intensified. He eventually arrives at the cemetery and his hands shake in a nearly uncontrollable fury as he looks at the desecrated graveyard, growling loudly when he spots two bipedal NEXTs standing over the destroyed tombstone of Katrina's grave, one a lightweight model and the other a medium model. He taps into the duo's communications.

One pilot asked, "Are you sure this is a good idea?"

The second pilot answered, "Yes. Knowing how strong their bond was, Keith won't let this go unanswered."

Her team mate said, "I'm thinking we just wrote our death certificate with this!"

'Oh, how right you are!' Keith thought venomously.

The duo look up to see Black Dragon making its way to them, using its boosters to slow its rate of descent until the feet firmly touch the ground. Keith studies his opponents.

The lightweight NEXT had bronze colored armor, a cyan eye and carried a similar weapon loadout to Reiterpallasch and had an emblem of two swords crossing each other to form an X. The machine's name was Bronze Knight.

The medium NEXT had a LANCEL body design like Transcend, was colored charcoal gray, yellow eyes, armed with twin 063ANNR assault rifles, HLC09-SIRIUS high laser cannon and an Assault Amplifier. The emblem was that of a knight holding a tattered flag. Its name was Aeon.

The first pilot said, "You're earlier than we expected, Keith Oswell. It'd be rude not to introduce ourselves. My name is Kaitlin Siegfried and one of the assassins that attacked you. The person next to me is my friend Derrick Price."

Keith asked, "Do you know have any idea on what you two did?"

Bryan stated, "We needed to lure you out and it worked."

Keith cried, "That's not what I meant. Fiends of the League, you crossed a line you shouldn't have! You've desecrated a site where the souls of the deceased find eternal rest including Katrina. Prepare for punishment!" He ignites the 07-Moonlight laser blade and it clashes with Bronze Knight's LB-ELTANIN then Black Dragon kicks the bronze NEXT in the chest, sending it skidding across the ground. Bronze Knight spins around and aims its RG03-KAPTEYN rail gun but automatically pulls back when Black Dragon uses Assault Armor. The black NEXT dodges a shot from Aeon's HLC09-SIRIUS high laser cannon and retaliates with the WADOU grenade rifle that Aeon destroys with its assault rifles. The enemy NEXTs hear the missile warning as Black Dragon fires the WHEELING-01 multi-chain missile launcher along with the NEMAHA-01 vertical launch support missiles. Half of the projectiles strike home on their targets and inflict damage. Bronze Knight swings the laser blade sideways only to have it being caught and Black Dragon thrusts its elbow down against the back of the opponent's neck following it up with repeated knees to the gut. Wrapping its hands around Bronze Knight's legs, Black Dragon starts spinning around gaining momentum then throws its enemy away. A cloud of dust signifies where the bronze colored Armored Core landed.

Derrick looked at the black NEXT in fear, "Just what the hell was the League thinking? Even though their rule over Earth has started to dwindle, they're still flat out serious on killing the Demons of Hell!" His NEXT starts backing up as Derrick feels the fear of death flowing through his system.

The young man watches as Black Dragon manhandles Bronze Knight, throwing punch after punch. A kick makes the machine stumble back and it looked like it'd collapse at any minute but Kaitlin refuses to be defeated by a boy. Black Dragon stares at her with both of its main weapons pointed at the ground.

'Now that I actually fought him, I can see why the Demons of Hell are both feared and admired by many.' Kaitlin thought.

Keith commented, "I must admit that I admire your fighting spirit, Kaitlin but I recommend that you surrender. If you do, I may consider sparing your lives." His response was Bronze Knight coming at him, "Big mistake!" Black Dragon quick boots to the right and fires the grenade rifle at the enemy, bringing Bronze Knight's AP down to the red zone.

Derrick begged, "Kaitlin, please surrender! There's no point continuing this fight with Keith given the state of mind he's in, the League ordered us to do this just to antagonize him more!"

Kaitlin shook her head, "I don't care! The League has ordered us to kill him!"

Keith retorted, "Because they were condemning mankind to a slow, painful death! Join them in hell!" Black Dragon lights up the main boosters, propelling the mighty NEXT forward at incredible speeds. It rams its shoulder into Bronze Knight knocking the NEXT down and Black Dragon flies into the air then aims the OGOTO grenade cannon. The lock-on symbol turns red and Keith pulls the trigger. A blast of compressed air sends the shell on its way and Kaitlin's eyes widen as she watches it coming closer and closer until it hits, taking the rest of the machine's AP. However, given his state of mind, Keith refuses to let up. He pulls the trigger repeatedly, damaging the downed enemy beyond recognition. Only when the grenade cannon runs out of ammo does Keith stop.

Derrick gasps in fear of death as Black Dragon turns its gaze towards him aiming its WADOU grenade rifle. Black Dragon sets the main boosters to full power and grabs hold of Aeon before leaving the cemetery. Settling with an open field, Black Dragon throws Aeon with all its might towards the ground. The charcoal gray NEXT forms a crater on impact and Derrick's eyes widen when he sees towering over his machine. Black Dragon cuts Aeon vertically in half with one swift stroke of the 07-Moonlight laser blade, the black Armored Core pulls back before the explosion occurs.

Inside the cockpit, Keith puts his hands on his helmet and threw his head back releasing an anguished scream.

Serene heard his scream over the radio and can't help but feel sad.

Once he stops screaming, the black-haired teen feels a fresh stream of tears run down his cheeks and sobs, burying his face in his arms on the control panel. The thunderstorm starts to weaken as the rain slows then stops completely. A breeze comes through and Keith could feel a presence coming from it.

_Beneath the veil of starry sky,_  
_As cold as winter's darkest night._  
_It's there you sleep, silent and deep,_  
_You're all alone._

_I sing the prayer's_  
_Soft melody_  
_Across the lonely silent fields_  
_A little light began to shine,_  
_It shines on and on_

_I watched you as you so peacefully dreamed,_  
_You laughed like a child,_  
_Happy and carefree_  
_It's all familiar and yet so far,_  
_That's the future's promise for you and me._

_One day on a green and shiny morn',_  
_One day we will finally make it through_  
_Cause in this sky_  
_So dark with winter,_  
_We still have to believe it's true_  
_Fields of hope._

'Katrina?' Keith thought over the identity of the voice.

_A gentle touch_  
_A loving brush_  
_Those things I still search for_  
_A prayer in_  
_A melody_  
_It goes on and on_

Elsewhere, Savage Beast stands guard as a peace negotiation takes place in the meeting hall behind it. Canis can hear the voice singing even through his helmet, his gray eyes turn to the sky overhead as he reflects on his brother and sister relationship he had with Katrina.

_I sing the prayer's_  
_Soft melody_  
_One vanishes, one dies_  
_And all in all_  
_It starts again_  
_A never ending cycle_

Canis said, "Keith, are you listening to this as well? I believe Katrina's telling you not to be sad, she wants you to cherish the memories you have of her."

_One day on a green and shining morn'_  
_Through all the long nights we've been fighting for_  
_There lies a place_  
_Far from disgrace_  
_Where we won't have to hide from the world again_

_Now there lies a deep love within my heart_  
_A yearn to protect you and keep you warm_  
_It's all familiar and yet so far,_  
_It's made for the peace of mind_  
_Fields of hope_

_Natsukashiku mada tooi_  
_Yakusoku no nohara_  
_Fields of hope_  
_Fields of hope_

Once the song ends, Keith feels the tears stop flowing. Exiting the cockpit to stand on Black Dragon's shoulder he gets awarded with a beautiful sunset, its warm light casting a glow on the Armored Core's frame. Holding the ruby gem of the necklace in his hand, Keith stares at it remembering that Katrina got it for him as a birthday present when he turned 8 and just defeated Otsdarva to become the new rank 1 Lynx. Returning his gaze to the sunset the American allows the Sun to bathe him in its light, wondering what the future has in store for him.

A/N: This one-shot takes place in the gap between the canon ending of Armored Core: Demons of Hell and Vandread Raven. I wanted to show what kind of state of mind Keith was in during this time period.

The song I used here is the English version of Fields of Hope. Although both versions of the song are great, I like the English one slightly better because the songstress Desiree Parker puts emotion into each lyric. It brings tears to your eyes, it really does. I wanted the song to show what Keith's future would be because we all know that he lost Katrina in the canon ending of Armored Core: Demons of Hell and ultimately finds love again in Meia in Vandread Raven.

2012 wasn't a good year for me to be honest with you. I hope 2013 will be different.

Read and review.

Stay tuned for the sequel to my wrestling story, Sister of Darkness.

Vader 23A


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